So it's the first of January 2023. Wow.

Another year in the garden past.

It was a dry year.

It was a year where the grass burnt out, for a bit in summer.

It was a year that things took shape.

If anything it was a year that past all too soon.

I didn't know what was going to happen, I hadn't really made a plan.

I'm grateful for what came along eventually.

I've done it once, put a book together from the All Gardening Cafe.

I'm going to do it again, this time I'm going to focus the book around GROWTH.

Things we grow.

How we grow.

What to grow.

When to grow.

Why we grow.

I'll do a small print run, and no reprints.

It will be a year book to keep.

It will be a year book to treasure.

I hope when it's done, and I share it with you, you might delight in it.

Here's today's podcast.

Phil Argent

Founder of All Gardening

www.allgardening.co.uk

Grow your all

This is a celebration of everything you can grow. For the pleasure in trying and the excitement of what might come.

Here's to the big, beautiful mess of gardens and the mindfulness that simply makes you feel good when you try.

When we look closely, we can see more, simple seems so beautiful.

How do you start, how far do you go, how much will it take.

You'll only know when you grow your all.

Delight in getting started, because it's a gift.

Here's today's podcast.

Phil Argent

Founder of All Gardening

www.allgardening.co.uk

Mud, mud, glorious mud. Nothing quite like it for cooling the garden

But it's fair to say perhaps, we don't really love mud enough.

I've made peace with mud over the years, I've learnt there is good mud, there is wet mud, there is hard dry mud and the is compacted mud.

Magic mud.

Sticky mud.

I've found that somedays mud gets deep into my hands. Deep into my fingerprints.

Deeply gripped.

I've found that somedays mud hangs on my boots, adding and adding, like it wants to travel somewhere with me, but it need not know where it's going.

Weighted mud.

Carrying mud.

I've found that mud tells a story of the garden and lawn, mud shares insights into the past and the future.

Mud moves me.

We should take more time to look at our mud.

We should take more time to feel our mud.

We should take more time to play with our mud.

Playful, plentiful, perfectly posed to make more.

Here's todays podcast.

Phil Argent

Founder of All Gardening

https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/podcast

Manifesto of a gardener 

1 - Begin with small. If you seek to change anything momentum will help get you going. Learning how to move a little will inspire you. Find a tool that makes little delightful. Then find the next tool that makes a little a bit more. 

2 - Let things take time. Nature does not give you deadlines, so don't set yourself any. Seek progress in the things you're getting done. 

3 - Dig like you mean it. Dig with a spade first, but make shallow trial digs, feel the soil you are working with. 

4 - Focus on the task. Doing a bit here, and a bit there is just faffing. Faffing can be plentiful. But remember, faffing stops you from doing. 

5 - Somethings won't grow. This is guaranteed. All the preparation in all the world will sometimes not be enough. See these failings as gifts. They will make you a better gardener. Rather than drive you to give us, they will drive you to learn more, and be more patient and focused. 

6 - Ideas start change. But ideas are just that ideas. Try something you can see evolve. Do the work to bring the idea alive. 

7 - If you want to grow something, you have two options. One, you can talk about it. Two you can do it, bit by bit, step by step, by step. 

8 - What you grow takes effort. Don't give up. 

9 - What needs to be done today. Ask yourself this everyday. It's your job to do the caring and growing each and every day. 

10 - The effort you can put in, has a direct relationship to how much you want to see it grow. Your effort is not infinite, use it carefully. 

11 - Growing better comes. When you start it's simple, simple to do, simple to see. But it will get better. 

12 - Dig, rest, dig, rest. Human’s get more done in bursts followed by rest. Getting things done isn’t about who does the longest hours, but who does the smartest hours. 

13 - 80% of your time will be spent on things you won't see grow. 20% of your time is spent on the things you are very good at. In order to get more done, flip that. 

14 - Tea multiplies output. It's a simple with, but a cup of tea, to ponder the future brings power to move mountains. 

15 - Keep your energy for pushing the garden forward. The past is done. Things out of your control cannot be changed. Energy spent being angry, jealous, or cynical is negative energy. Stay positive. 

16 - Have a plan. Then accept it can and will change. Making something happen is about being nimble and adaptable. 

17 - Think, more than do. Try to not redo, and try not to move anything twice. Think through your next task ahead of doing. 

18 - Growing is rewarding. Growing is a gift, the results you can share, tell stories about, and teach others. 

19 - Little actions repeated daily will result in big changes. You'll see over time that small parts added, become something huge. 

20 - Agree that some things will not grow. This is a gift. You'll learn more by what doesn't grow than what does. Seek out the failures. 

21 - Even though gardening is a sole passion, share it with others. Give back. It will help you. 

22 - All gardeners are custodians. Have something big that you want to change. This is bigger than you. Your purpose multiplies. An oak tree planted as a sapling today, is a gift for someone in the next century. 

23 - If you are going to make change happen, make it a good one. This planet needs as many friends as it can get.

Hold my hand, squeeze me tight, feel my warmth.

These December winter days, they are short, especially from a daylight point of view.

Days start.

They peak.

And the days' end.

Seeming like a shooting star.

We end where we start, surrounded by our closest.

We gardeners have a natural place to settle.

We find our "green house", it's warm, an ever optimistic place.

We know things still grow, steadily, they just need that bit more care.

We guide with delight.

I often look up at the sky seeking a diamond star.

You see these winter nights often offer those gems, but you need to look.

Warmth comes from being together.

Growth comes from dreaming together.

Hold my hand, squeeze me tight, and make me smile.

Here's today's podcast

Phil Argent

Founder of All Gardening

https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/podcast

There will sometimes be occasions where a lawn has deteriorated to the extent where it is not possible to bring it back to life with just a few treatments.

There may be specific problems with the grass plant itself which has led to the lawn being in such a poor state.

These may include disease, insect damage, substantial weed infestation, considerable levels of thatch in the lawn, or incorrect grasses may have been used on the lawn to begin with.

More times than enough though, other home and family priorities have meant the lawn has been neglected, or it has simply run its course due to overuse through time – your much-loved and much-used family lawn and garden has served you and your family well over the years and it is now time for a complete lawn rejuvenation.

Many customers also tell us that their circumstances and lifestyles have changed, and with the children grown they would prefer an ornamental lawn, others say they have a growing family and is it possible to make the lawns more hard wearing.

Whatever the reasons for your lawn requiring a complete overhaul, our Complete Lawn Plan programme will give you a new lawn at a much more affordable price than laying new turf.

Our Complete Lawn Plan programme is a bespoke programme specifically tailored to each lawn’s individual requirements, and we will carry out a lawn survey and consultation with you.

It's like having your very own green keeper.

This is typically an annual program, where all the technical work is done alongside lawn mowing visits. This helps us keep track of progress and make any changes as and when are needed.

The cost of each programme is dependent on the work that is necessary for each particular lawn.  It is more cost-effective to completely regrow a lawn than to lay a new lawn from scratch as materials and labour can often be expensive.

All Lawn Plan Complete programmes typically include a weekly or bi weekly visit throughout the season.  This also enables us to check on the progress of the new lawn and provide tailored follow-up advice on caring for your new lawn to ensure you get the full benefit from the programme.

This programme can be carried out at any time of the year apart from winter.

To learn more, have your lawn assessed and a free quote contact us.